Breech-loading ordnance



2 Sheets-Sheet; 1.

C. C. CHAMBERLAIN.

BRBECH LOADING ORDNANGE.

Patented Apr. 17, 1888.\

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. 0. GHAMBERLAIN.

BRBBGH LOADING ORDNANCE.

` No. 881.880. Patented Apr. 17, 1888.

Fig. 3Q

www,

A ward end the combustion of powder is continuons increase in the acceleration of theshot lfrom that part of the charge contained in the Nrri Y rares Parenti* ,rinesa CHARLES e. eHAMBnR-LAIN,

GF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN.

sassarese/.ienne oanuinoe.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters i Application filed December 7, i587.

To'aZZ whom t may concern.- l

Be it known that l, Cuantas C. Cumiana# LAIN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Muskegon, in the county et' Muskegon and Stute or' Michigan, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Guns; and] do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will euable others skilled in the art to which it apper tains to make and usei'he same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and gures of reference marked thereon.whieh form apart of this specification.

Thisinvention relates to an improvementin that class oi'ordnance usually known 'as huiltnp gu ns, 7 in which a. comparatively light inner tube or barrel is supported against thestrains of firing byoneormorcouter cases or sleeves secured upenthe barrel in various ways. Inthc presentinstance the barrel is provided with a sleeve that embraces that portion of it between thetrunnions and-a point on the chase about one-third the distance from the tru unions te the muzzle. In the rear of this chase-sleeve and extending beyond the powder chamber the barrel is surrounded and supported by coils of wire, preferablyr of rectangular sections,` coiled layer upon lay'er until this wire support is brought to the saine diameter as that of the chase-sleeve. A breeehsleeve is then placed over the wire, extending from the efe treme end ofthe barrel to a point 'a short dis tance forward of the rear end of the chasesleevc. A screwethread is formed upon the forward end of the breechslceve to receive the trunnioirband, which is similarly threaded and provided `lvith an inwardly projecting flange which, when the hand is in position upon the gun, rests against a projection of the chase-sleeve. The powder-chamber of the gun is made in the ferm oi'a conic i'rustuin,its small end adjacent to the scat of'thc projectile, so that when the charge is fnedat its fortinually Iincreasedin quantity unt-il the base of the conc is reached, thus producing a coufrom the time it leaves its seat until it leaves the gun, the projecting force being developed.A

when complete.

l {ruste-conical and the following force from that part contained in the cylindrical portion of the powderchaniber.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the construction and arrangement ot'the several parts ot'the gun, Figure l is a longitndinal horizontal seetion, through the gun, showing the position and relative arrange- .nient of the different parts. Fig. 2 is a top View illustrating the appearance ot' the gun Figs. 3 and 4 show diagrams of the powder chamber of the gun, illustrating the action of thc chargeupon the projectile.

In constructing this gun the first step is to form' the barrel A, which for an eightinch gun would preferably he et' steel thirty-nine and one-halt'calibers in length, with a thickness of metal at theunuzzle ot about tour inches, this thickness gradually increasing until, ata point about twothirds of the distance from the muzzle to the truunion, where the chase-sleeve B commences, it has reached about double that thickness. At this point there is a sudden increase in thick ness to the f full diameter of the barrel, or about twentyf four ine-hes, thus forming the shoulder c. This diameter is retained until the rear of thepowder-chamber C is reached, from which point to the Shoulder e it isyslightly tapered. rlhis shoulderlc is the abutment against which the solid block forming the rear pai-tof thehrcech` sleevel) resta.

An important part of the gun is the powdcrchamber C, to formwhichthe rear portion Y I et' the barrel back of the seat ofthe projectile is greatly enlarged. rlhis enlargement is formed by a. regular taper, which in the dis v tance ot' thirtyseven inches, or thercabout, from the seat increases the diameter of the chamber to seventeen inches, thus producing a chamber having the forni of a conical frustum. From the rear ot' this conical portion the Walls of the chamber extend in parallel lines until the serew-thread formed for the reception of the breech-plug E is reached'. This form of chamber furnishesiroom for a very large charge or powder, and at the same time allows the projectile to be seated well in the rear of the trunnions.

Another advantage consists in the graduallyincreasing power developed as the charge is burned. 'It being #rst ignited at its forward end, its action upon the projectile will be to Start it slowly; but asithe powder burns back the quantity in ignition is continually increased, so that the pressure upon the shot and consequent speed is continually accelerated until it leaves the gun, thus producing a result similar to that sought 'to be achieved 'oy the so-ealled Inulticharge-gun.

The breech -plug E is constructed in the usual manner with exterior segmental screwthreads,wliieh engage with similar threads in the rear end of the barrel. This breech-plug may also be provided with a gas-check, F, constructed, preferably, as shown.

The next step in the manufacture of the gun consists in applying the. sleeve E to the chase. This sleeve is preferably of cast-steel, bored to form a snug lit on the barrel A, and provided with an inwardly-projecting flange, b, which, when the sleeve is in place, engages With the shoulder a of the barrel and prevents `the sleeve from moving farther toward the breech ofthe gun., its outside is tapered, for a gun ofthe size heretofore named, from 'a thiclrness of about ve and a halt' inches at its rear end to about two and a half at its forward end.

Tt is then slipped on over .the muzzle and scsolid end d ofthe breech-sleeve abuts.

cured in place upon the barrel by beingshrunk or pressed thereon. The Wire coil is then placed upon the cylindrical portion of the gun and ills the space G between the barrel and sleeve D. This wire is preferably a drawn steel wire ofrectangular erosssection, and may .be applied as follows: The gun, being placed in alathe so that it may be rotated, is provided with a collar or other suitable device for n aining the ends of the coil in position. The wire, mounted upon a suitable reel, has one end attached tothe gun, which is then rotated and the wire coiled around it under tension, completely coveringr its cylindrical part and also thetapered portion cbetween thechasesleeve and the shoulder c', against which the When the wire-in winding has made one complete layer outside the barrel, another is Wound outside of it in a diagonal line, so that the wires otvthc diil'erent layers alternately cross, and the process is continued until the coil of wire has reached a diameter equal to that of the larger end ofthe chase-sleeve. The end of the wire is then secured, and, if desired, a chip may be taken from its surface to render the i coil perfectly straight and cylindrical, and4 thus prepare it for the reception of the breechsleeve D.

It will be observed that the barrel has a slight taper at a, and that the rear portion of the wire coil embraces this taper, thus giving the same hold upon the barrel to assist in resisting longitudinal strains.

lThe walls of the cylindrical portion of the powder-chanibei',being much thinner than that part\of the barrel in front of said chamber, will expand Amore under the strains caused by the explosion of thecharge than that portion of the barrel through which the projectile passes in its exit from the gun, .thus forming an enlargement of the barrel temporarily at the chamber and consequent slight taper t0- ward the muzzle, which taper, in connection with that at the rear of the chamber, causes j the wire coil to have a tendency to resist longitudinal strains as well as those tending to expand it radially.

The breech-sleeve B is formed, like the chasel sleeve, preferably of cast-steel, and provided with, a heavy inward extension, d, at the breech. The body of this sleeve is .bored out to forni a shrink lit over the wire coiland rear end ofthe chasesleevc B, while the extension d is bored to iit the rear extremity of the bar` rel in the saine manner, extending along the saine until it comes in Contact with the shoulder-a' of said barrel. This sleeve may then be placed on the gun outside the wire coil by pressing it on over the breech, or by heating and shrinking it to its place.

Upon the forward end of the sleeve D is cut a screw-thread, which engages with a similar thread formed in the trunnion-band H. This trunnion-band is also provided with an inwardly-projecting iiange, e, which, when the band is in place, covers the end of the sleeve D and bears against the shoulder b of the chase-sleeve. y

it will be apparent that when the trunni'onL band is screwed onto the breech-sleeve the bearing of its flange upon the shoulder b of the chase-sleeve will cause both sleeves to be KCO drawn forcibly against the shoulders a and a.

of the barrel, thus causing said sleeves to assist materially in resisting the longitudinal strains upon the barrel in tiring. The whole. forms a cheaply-constructed, well-balanced, and effective gun, the form ofthe powderchamber allowing very large charges to be tired with safety, as it causes the strains to increase gradually instead of the l'ull force of the charge coming upon the gun suddenly, as in the case with the enlarged powder-charnbers now in use.

It will be understood that in the construction of the powder-chamber the taper may, if desired, be carried back farther than shown in Fig. l' of the drawings, the intention being that the projectile shall haveaequired its full velocity by the time that the powder in the conical portion of the chamber has been burned. To more fully illustrate this, a chain` ber constructed on my plan in accorda-nce with the following formula will give the highest practical eiicicncy of gunpowder: length of base or cylindrical portion, one and a quarter caliber; diameter of base, two :uid one-fourth calibers; length of frustuxn or tapered portion of the chamber, iive and one half calibers. This chamber is designed to burn efficiently more than double the quantity of powder that can beeflectivcly burned in the chamber of any gun now known of equal caliber, To further illustrate the action of the powder upon the projectile when burned in this chamber, having a diminished tapered portion at its 5o reference is had to the diagramsin Figs. 3 and i rear, a metallic coil embracing the core and 4 of the drawings, in which the outline ofthe extending forward beyond such taper, and au chamber is indicated by the line O. a: indiouter casing engaging the gunbody and cates the point of first ignition, and the curved closely confining the coil, as set forth. lines 'y y the successive ignitions. 3. As an improvementin guns, the combi- 55 A grain of powder in combustion willignite nation,with the body or core thereof, of breech all others within a radius of six times its own and chase sleeves engaging the same at their diameter. Therefore if powder the kernels remotesections,such sleevesbeing respectively io of which are an inch in diameter is used in screw-'threaded and outwardly flanged at their the chamberof a gun constructed as hereinbecontiguous ends, and a screw-threaded and iu- 6o fore described, its action would be as follows: Wardly-tlanged trunnion-band engaging Such c XVhen the powder upon the line g/ nearest the sleeves and rigidly connecting them when the point is in a state of combustion,- it ignites band is screwedup.

It. The improved gun herein described,corn successive ignitions continue until the base of prising the barrel provided with a frontend 65 the chamber is reached, at which time all the rear shoulder, a and a', respectively, the chasecontents of the same will be in a state of comsleeve having in front iiange b and in rear biistion. There would be, therefore, eight igflange b', the breech-sleeve externally screw- 20 nitions before the base of the chamber would threaded at its forward end and provided with be reached, requiring an appreciable lapse of an cngagingiia-nge,d, at its rearend, and thein- 7c time from the first ignition before all the conternally-screw'threaded trunnionband havingtents of the chamber would be in a state of actan inwa1dly-turned flange, whereby when the ive combustion. If the diameters ofthe kertrunnion-band is screwed up the iiargev ofthe 25 nels be more or less than this, the number of said band is made to eneagethe shoulder upon ignitions will be correspondinglyincreased or the chase-sleeve and iirmly draw to it the '75' diminished. It willtherefore be apparent that breeclrsleeve, thus tending to unite the two the projectile will receive a series of impulses closely together and re-enforce thelongitndiincreasing in force as the quantity of powder nal strength of the gun, as set forth. 3o in a state of active combustion increases. 5. As an improvement in guns, the barrel I am aware that guns have been constructed provided with the enlarged conical poWder- 8o with a conical chamber polygonal in cross sec chamber,in combination with thebrecchsleeve tion and alse with curved outlines, the greatand Wire coil embracing the barrel at the rear, est enlargement in both being immediately ad. the chase-sleeve, and the trnnnion-band connecting said sleeves, substantially as specified. chamber I do not claim as my invention. 6. The combination of the barrel A, pro- 85 Having thnsdescribed myinvention, I claim vided with the conical powderchamber, the

as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, wire coil surrounding said harrehgthe hreech i sleeve inclosing Said coil, the chasesleeve,and

i trnnnionband, said trunnion-band screwed with a frnsto-eonical front section of gradual onto the breech-sleeve and connecting it with gc ktaper and a. short-er cylindrical rear section, the chase-sleeve, all arranged for joint opera these being so proportioned that theprojecting tion, substantially as shown and described. force shall be developed from the part of the In testimony whereofl afx my signature iu charge contained in the frusto-conical and the presence of two Witnesses.

lfollowing force from the part contained in the CHARLES C. CHAMBEHLAIN. cylindrical section ofthe breeclrchamber, as Witnesses: set forth. NV. C. LANGAN,

2. The combination or" a gun body .or core l- G. BURRoUGHs. 

